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When Republicans in the U.S. House and Senate passed historic tax reform that will decrease taxes for more than 80 percent of Americans, Democrats branded the tax cut a "heist." Terms such as "looting," "theft," and "heist" suggested that Republicans weren't giving Americans back more of their hard-earned money, but rather stealing from the poor to give to the rich. This rhetoric is revealing — it shows that Democrats no longer believe in private property, a cornerstone of American values and the basis on which President Abraham Lincoln argued against slavery.

"Shamefully, Republicans were cheering against the children as they rob from their future and ransack the middle class to reward the rich," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) tweeted, adding the hashtag #GOPTaxScam. She was far from alone in adopting such rhetoric.

Shamefully, Republicans were cheering against the children as they rob from their future and ransack the middle class to reward the rich #GOPTaxScam

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) echoed her fellow Democrats. "The bill that the Republicans jammed through the senate tonight isn't tax reform. It's a heist. Let's call this out for what it is: Government for sale."

The bill that the Republicans jammed through the Senate tonight isn’t tax reform. It’s a heist. Let's call this out for what it is: Government for sale. #GOPTaxScam

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who nearly won the Democratic presidential nomination last year, described the tax bill this way: "What we are seeing today, in an unprecedented way, is the looting of the federal Treasury."

Few Democrats echoed the talking point quite as succinctly as Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.). "The #GOPTaxScam represents the wholesale looting of America by the wealthy at the expense of middle class families," Cicilline tweeted.

Each of these attacks followed a common thread, an argument that by cutting taxes, Republicans were not just increasing the federal debt — a legitimate concern about the tax bill — but actively stealing from the government, and therefore stealing from the American people.